Chandigarh: Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's close aide Virender, who failed to appear before Rohtak police yesterday in connection with sedition charge, has been directed to join investigation immediately.

"We have told his (Virender) lawyer to join investigation immediately as the matter is quite serious," Rohtak SP Shanshak Anand said today.

"He (lawyer) gave us assurance that Virender will soon join," the SP said. Virender, a Congress leader, was booked by Rohtak Police on February 24 on sedition charges after surfacing of a90-second audio clip of a purported conversation between him and another person, allegedly to incite violence during Jat agitation.

The police had asked him to join investigation by yesterday but he failed to appear. Lawyer of Virender has requested seven-day time for joining the investigation.

The FIR against Virender and Man Singh Dalal was registered under various sections of the IPC, including Section 124-A (Sedition) and Section 120-B (Conspiracy), Section 153-A (promoting enmity between classes) and Section 153-B (imputation, assertion prejudicial to national integration).

The FIR against the duo was registered on a complaint of a Bhiwani resident Pankaj Kumar. Virender, advisor to Hooda, had earlier accepted that the voice in the clip was his but alleged the conversation had been doctored.

Meanwhile, police said more than 75 persons have been arrested in Rohtak alone in connection with the incidents of arson and violence during Jat agitation.